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Lu Sho Maga
The oldest codified religion in the known world: purported to have been first written as a series of texts by monks as far back as 1200 BCA, and organised as a socio-political treatise incorporating spiritual elements into the proper maintenance of government and order. This religion has spread far and wide in the Dwarfen society of Rhugaiya, and it is there that the religion is strongest to this day. Lu Sho Maga is set down as a series of teachings within a central and expanding text: it is a "living religion". Lu Sho Maga (|:| |!’ ‘`|,,`) means The Long Journey, and refers to the lessons learned from lives past. Religious Teachings and Information In the face of a religion founded in a shogunistic society, old before the time of unification, The Long War of Rhugaiya was seen by many Rhugaiyan Dwarves as a blasphemous venture to disrupt power. Most, however, now regard it as a fulfilling of the teachings: a final power and order over all in which all men know their place and each place is part of a greater whole. Over subsequent centuries more and more short texts are added to the codified whole, with a new piece constructed at the death of a ruler since the year 424; highlighting the goods and evils of the Rai, and what lessons can be learned from his reign. This forms the central codex of the religion, with a plethora of complementary texts on the lives of individual Ro. The religion is run by a single order of priests who convene at the death of each king (previously every century) for a period of three months, in which time they write and meditate on the past, and what lessons must be drawn and included in their sacred texts. The religious capital is Sho-ma. Religious Influence The religion is spread throughout all of the Central and Northern Magaives, with the heart being centred in West and North Rhugaiya, as well as followings in Eastern Mandari, as far north as Sentarwol, and as far West as Oldstead. There is a Lú Shò Mägä monastery in the hills surrounding Atzior, and large shrines in Jive and Westerport. Rhugaiya, since the year 416, has been regarded as a theocratic state under The Long Journey. Religious Text: Content and Structure The great text is organised into books and chapters. Each book covers the life lessons of a leader. Each chapter is about a lesson, and is split into three portions: The Story; The Lesson; and The Application (Lú Chògä, Lú Fúläkí, Lú Dògò). The Story recounts the tale from which the lesson is to be drawn. This is done in a very distinctively official and poetic style, often reserved for official correspondences between members of state. The Lesson draws from the story as a series of explanations; each one surmising the main point in a different way -- there are usually three of these, and the style may vary. The Application is a single slab of text that converts Lú Chògä and Lú Fúläkí into something that is meaningful and can be employed within the life of the reader to better fill their role -- this section is usually written in very simple and concise language, so that one can understand it’s meaning regardless of one’s place in society. Every century (-1106, -1006, -906 … 206, 306, 406) pre-424 CA, it was custom for anywhere between one and five books to be added at a time: each telling the stories of a single leader. However, since the realignment of the religious meetings to the lives and deaths of the monarchs they served, rather than a measure of fixed time, it became custom for a single book to be added after each death, each with more chapters per book than had previously been considered customary. Each book is named after the trait the leader in question was most thought to possess, and each chapter is named after the lesson to be learned therein.